Emancipation (Moksha)

Ashta Pahuda

Acharya Kund kund

Courtesy of Jain Mission Information

VI. Emancipation (Moksha)

Obeisance to that Divine Being who, shedding the Karmas, and discarding non-self, has realised the self as consisting of knowledge.2. Having bowed to that Being of infinite knowledge and vision and pure, I will spark of Parmatman, (the self functioning to perfection in its purity), the highest state to be reached by the best of yogis.

3. Knowing and always experiencing whom the yogi, poised in meditation, attains Nirvana, a state free from suffering, everlasting, and incomparable.

4. The self is of three kinds. Parmatman, inner self (which realises its true character) and outer self (which identifies itself with non-self); leaving alone the last, Paramatman is meditated upon by the inner self; (therefore) discard the outer self.

5. The senses etc, constitute the outerself, the innerself clearly realises its true character, this freed from the taint of Karma is Parmatman or Divine Being.

6. Free from impurity, free from body, free from the senses, absolute and pureself, poised at the highest stage, the Great Conquerer (of Karmas), the Saviour, the Everlasting, the Perfect.

7. Absorved in the innerself and discarding the outerself, meditate on Paramatman; (so) has the best of Jinas preached.

8. Fixing his mind on external objects and owing to the senses forgetting his true nature, the man of false vision, identifies his body with the self.

9. (And) Looking upon other bodies, even if inanimate, as his own, appropriates and cherishes them with intense feeling.

10. Identifying themselves and others with the body, men develop affection for child, wife etc.

11. A man devoted to spurious knowledge and entertaining false thoughts, when over-powered by delusion, even takes the body to be the self.

12. The yogi who is in-different to the body, without distraction, without attachment, without paraphernalia, and absorbed in the true self attains Nirvana.

13. Attachment to non-self strengthens and detachment breaks the bondage of various Karmas. This is how the Jina has described Bondage and emancipation in short.

14. The recluse absorbed in the true self ha right faith in reality; entertaining such faith, he eventually destroys the eight evil Karmas.

15. The ascetic engrossed in non-self is a man of false faith; he evolves the wrong way and is bound by the eight evil Karmas.

16. Attachment to) non-self lowers one’s state of existence and (to) the true self verily better it; knowing this, be attached to the true self and averse from the other.

17. What is foreign to the true nature of the self, animate, inanimate, or a mixture of the two, is non-self; so has the omniscient truly said.

18. Free from the eight evil Karmas, incomparable, knowledge incarnate, everlasting, pure,-such a self, the Jina has said, is the true self.

19. Those who, turning away from non-self, meditate upon the true self are men of right conduct; taking to the path of the great Jinas they attain Nirvana.

20. With the help of the faith of the Jina, the yogi meditates on the pure self; by this he attains Nirvana; why can he not (then) attain the region of the gods?

21. One who can walk a hundred yojanas in a day with a heavy load, can he not walk even half a kos on the earth with ease?

22. The hero who is not defeated in battle by a crore of warriors (fighting) together, can that hero be defeated in battle by a single man?

23. All can attain heaven (svarga) by austerity, but if one attains it by means of meditation, one may attain everlasting bliss in the next birth.

24. As pure gold is produced by proper treatment, so the self becomes paramataman when helped by time etc. (This is another reference to the four determining factors, substance, place, time and mode).

25. It is good to attain heaven by vows and austerity, not torments of hell by their opposites. There is a great difference between sitting in the shade and sun-shine as between observers of vows and their opposites.

26. He who wishes to cross the great terrible sea of mundane existence meditates on the pure self which burns the fuel of Karmas.

27. Free from all passions pride, attachment, aversion, delusion, in-different to worldly business and poised in meditation (One) realises the self.

28. Giving up wrong belief, ignorance, bad and good deeds in three ways (thought, word, and deed) and keeping the vow of silence, the yogi poised in meditation illumines the self.

29. The form that I see knows nothing at all; the knower I do not see; therefore, with whom shall I talk?

30. Stopping the inflow of Karmas and shedding accumulated ones, the Yogi, poised in meditation, knows; the divine Jina has said so.

31. The yogi who sleeps where worldly business is concerned in awake in the business of the self; he who is awake in worldly business sleeps where business of the self is concerned.

32. Knowing this, the yogi entirely gives up all worldly business, and meditates on Paramatman as described by the best of Jinas.

33. Observing the five great vows with the five cautions and three reserves, cultivating the three gems (faith, knowledge and conduct), always attained to study and meditation.

34. The soul which cultivates the three gems has realisation and the fruit of realisation is Absolute Knowledge.

35. The self is perfect, pure, all-knowing and all-seeing, as stated by the great Jina; know it to be Absolute Knowledge.

36. The yogi who cultivates the three gems strictly according to the faith of the great Jina realises the self and discards non-self; there is no doubt about it.

37. What knows is knowledge, what sees is vision, renunciation of good as well as bad deeds is called (right) conduct.

38. Apprehension of the categories is faith, their comprehension is right knowledge, renunciation is conduct; so has the best of Jinas spoken.

39. One pure in faith is (really) pure, the man of pure faith attains Nirvana. One devoid of faith does not achieve the supreme end.

40. Thus has been stated the essence of the way of conquering old age and death; firm belief in this is said to be faith for recluses as well as laymen.

41. The yogi who knows the difference between soul and non- soul according to the faith of the great Jina is said to be (the man of) right faith, so has the All-Seeing declared.

42. Knowing this the yogi renounces good and bad deeds; that has been called suspense-free conduct by one who is free from Karma.

43. The saint who, endowed with the three gems, performs austerities according to his ability attains the highest rank, realising the pure self.

44. Always performing (austerities) in three (seasons) in three ways (thought, word and deed) free from the three (thorns, guile, false-belief, and desire for reward) endowed with three gems, free from the two faults (attachment and aversion), the yogi contemplates Parmatman.

45. The soul free from pride, deceit, anger and greed and of a spotless nature attains supreme bliss.

46. The mind engrossed in (gratification of) the senses and passions and cravings therefore and devoid of thoughts of Parmatman, the soul set against the Jina’s figure, does not attain perfect bliss.

47. The Jina’s figure as described by the great Jina really represents perfect bliss. The souls that do not cherish it even in a dream remain confined in the dense forest of mundane existence.

48. The yogi contemplating Parmatman, discards vitiating greed, and is not bound by new Karmas; so has the Best of Jinas declared.

49. The yogi who is firm in (right) conduct and right faith and meditates on the self attains the highest rank.

50. Right conduct is the religion of the self; religion is even mindedness, which means freedom attachment and aversion, the soul’s very nature.

51. As a pure crystal in conjunction with other substances looks different, so the soul associated with attachment etc. verily becomes of various kinds.

52. The yogi having devotion for God and preceptor, love for co-religionists and righteous people, and self-realisation is absorbed in meditation.

53. The Karma which an ignorant man performing severe austerities sheds in many lives the man of knowledge with three reserves (of mind, speech and body) sheds within an hour (Muhurta).

54. The saint who entertains feelings of attachment to pleasing objects other than self is an ignorant man; the man of knowledge is the reverse of this.

55. Such feelings (even) for means of emancipation are the cause of bondage; the person entertaining them is ignorant and averse from the true nature of the self.

56. He who is obsessed by the value of Karma (and believes only in sensorial knowledge) and refutes and criticises true knowledge is an ignorant man, the enemy of Jaina scripture.

57. A man of knowledge without conduct and austerity without vision, lacks the right attitude towards non-self; a mere observer of form, how can he attain bliss?

58. One who takes non-soul to be the conscious-self is ignorant; one who believes the soul to be the conscious-self is called the man of knowledge.

59. Knowledge without austerity is useless, so also is austerity without knowledge; therefore knowledge should be combined with austerity to attain Nirvana.

60. The Tirthankara, assured the perfect state and endowed with four kinds of knowledge, (also) performs austerities; knowing this, even the man of knowledge should perform austerities.

61. The saint who, devoid of internal purity, observes external form vitiates the true character of the self (and) loses the path of emancipation.

62. The knowledge born of happiness is lost when suffering supervenes; therefore, the self should be accustomed to suffering according to one’s power of endurance.

63. Controlling appetite, posture and sleep according to the great Jina’s faith, contemplate your true self, knowing it through the master’s favour.

64. The self in its true character, the self endowed with vision and knowledge, always meditate on that, knowing it through the master’s favour.

65. The self is known with difficulty; having known it, it is difficult to constantly bear it in mind; for the man who does so bear it in mind, it is difficult to refrain from sense gratification.

So long as a man does not know the self, he indulges in sense gratification; the yogi, averse from sense gratification, knows the self.67. Some men knowing the self are forgetful of their true nature and wander about in the four states of existence; fools engrossed in sense-gratification.

68. And those averse from sense gratification and possessed of the virtue of austerity, knowing the self with mental purity they get rid of the four states of existence.

69. The fool who, through infatuation is attached to non- self even to the extent of an atom, is ignorant (and) averse from the true nature of the self.

70. Those who meditate on the self, have pure vision and strength of character, and are indifferent to the senses assuredly attain Nirvana.

71. Because attachment to non-self is the cause of mundane existence, therefore the yogi always contemplates the self.

72. Even-mindedness towards blame and praise, suffering and happiness, foe and friend is right conduct.

73. Some men of perverted conduct, devoid of vow and caution and fallen from purity of mind say, “the time is not suitable for meditation.”

74. The unfortunate person devoid of vision and knowledge, strayed for certain from the path of emancipation and engrossed in worldly happiness, says, “verily the time is not (suitable) for meditation.”

75. The fool ignorant of the five great vows, the five cautions and the three reserves says, “verily, the time is not suitable for meditation.”

76. In this land of Bharat, even in this age of suffering a saint can have pious meditation poised in the true nature of the self; he who does not believe in this is also an ignorant man.

77. Even now those who, purified by the three gems, contemplate the self, attain the rank of Indra or god of the lokantik order after which they attain Nirvana.

78. The persons who are attracted by sin and, adopting the insignia of the best of Jinas, commit sin are sinners who stray from the path of emancipation.

79. he who fancies (one or other of) the five kinds of clothing, has possessions, is accustomed to begging and attached to sinful activity strays from the path of emancipation.

80. Those who are without possessions and free from delusion, who endure 22 kinds of hardships. Have subdued the evil passions and are free from the paraphernalia for (indulging in) sin are on the way to emancipation.

81. “In the upper, the lower, and the middle world no one is mine, I am all alone.” Through such mental attitude the yogis attain everlasting bliss.

82. Devotees of God and the preceptor, bearing in mind the traditions of non-attachment, absorbed in meditation with rectitude of conduct such people are on the way to emancipation.

83. From the point of view of reality, the self absorbed in the self for (realisation of) the self is verily a yogi of right conduct; such a yogi attains Nirvana.

84. He who combines full knowledge and vision in himself is the self in human form; the yogi who meditates on this conquers sin and becomes free from distraction.

85. So has the Jina described (the path) for holy recluses, now listen to that for laymen, the primary means of terminating mundane existence and achieving perfection.

86. Adopting right faith, spotless and unshakeable like the mountain of the gods, layman contemplate it in order to overcome suffering.

87. The soul that contemplates right faith is one with right vision; embracing right faith it then destroys the eight evil Karmas.

88. Why talk more? The good people who have attained perfection in the past or will do so in future know that to be due to the grace of right faith.

89. Those men are blessed, have achieved their real good and are brave and learned who have not tarnished, even in a dream, right faith which leads to perfection.

90. Belief in a religion of compassion, in a god free from 18 blemishes, and in a preceptor, free from possessions is right faith.

91. He who believes in a figure as at birth, a moral life, freedom from possessions and insignia independent of others has right faith.

92. He who worships a false god or religion or a false form, through shame, fear or vanity is verily a man of false faith.

93. He who believes in homage to insignia made up by one- self or others (and) to an immoral god imbued with attachment, has false faith; certainly of man of pure faith does not so believe.

94. The layman of right faith follows the religion preached by the divine Jina; one who is against it is known as a man of false faith.

95. The soul of false faith wanders about, without happiness, in the world where birth, old age and death prevail and which is full of a thousand miseries.

96. Why prattle further? Right faith is a virtue and false faith is a fault; consider this well and do what appeals to your heart.

97. What us is posture and silence to him who is free from external possessions and ties but not free from mental delusion? He does not know even-minded-ness of (the person who realises) the self.

98. The saint who, bereft of basic qualities, (only) observes outward forms, does not attain perfect bliss; he is ever a blot on the insignia of the Jina.

99. For one averse from the true nature of the self, what can outward acts do? What can various kinds of endurance do? What can austerity do?

100. If a person who does not understand the self studies a lot of scripture and observes various rules of conduct, that study and conduct is childish.

101 & 102. The saint who is free from non-attachment, averse from non-self, indifferent to worldly pleasures, attracted by the pure happiness of self-realisation, with bodily expression adorned by a group of virtues, knowing for certain what to reject and what to accept and absorbed in meditation and study attains the highest place.

103. Know that within the body which is adored by the adorable, meditated upon by thinkers and eulogised by the praise- worthy.

104. The five Parmestins, arhanta, siddha, acharya, upadhyaya, and sadhu, are all verily embraced by the self; therefore the self alone is my refuge.

105. Right faith, right knowledge, right conduct, right austerity, all the four inhere in the self; therefore, the self verily is my refuge.

106. Whoever reads, listens to or reflects upon Moksa Pahuda (composed) as spoken by the Jina, attains everlasting bliss.

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